ComplaintsforRoute 138 auto center

• Initial Complaint

  05/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a used car through this business. I picked it up on 4/22/22. On the ride home I noticed that the brakes were grinding and a brake light was out but somehow passed inspection. I brought it back the very next day. The mechanic briefly looked at the car and suggested I drive it for a week and if the noise was still there bring it back and he will fix it. I let him know I was not satisfied with this and left the car there. He called back Monday and said he had replaced the brakes. My girlfriend went to pick up the car that day, and on the way to pick me up from work the car shutdown and started smoking. My mother in law called the dealer as I was still at work, and the owner immediately started yelling and berating her saying that that was impossible and that I probably ran out of gas and said he was going to go down there to look at the car. My mother in law instructed him to not go to the car as my girlfriend was alone and he seemed very angry. He showed up with his lead mechanic and opened the hood of the car without permission and started messing around with the car. They said they thought the motor could potentially be blown. My girlfriend then let them know that we would be getting the car towed to our personal mechanic. We spoke with our mechanic the following day and he said that there is an electrical problem and it could potentially have fried the starter, battery, alternator and if driven any longer the car could have caught on fire. We then got the car towed back to them. The following day they called me and said they replaced the starter. The lead mechanic said he replaced the starter(without authorization) because it must've ran out of gas and my girlfriend tried to restart the car. I let him know that there was no way that could be. There was gas in the car even when the car was at my personal mechanic as he did get the car to briefly start before shutting down again. He then asked for $200 for the starter. I let him know I was seeking a refu

  Business response

  05/18/2022

  this customer purchased the vehicle from us when they complained about a break noise they were instructed to bring it in immediately, however they wanted to bring it to their mechanic which we explained that we would not cover repairs made there elsewhere they then brought it back in we inspected the brakes and they were well within specs and had plenty of life left once we determined the vehicle was safe to drive they were given the option to leave it or take it they took it and within five minutes the customers girlfriends mother called stating they didn't feel safe with the car so once again they were given the option to leave it which they chose to do this time to avoid any issues and keep customer happy we replaced the brakes at no charge to the customer they then came and picked it up on the way home the customers girlfriends mother called again stating the car broke down we asked where as we were going to determine the cause as the car had been driving and running perfectly fine when test driven after brake replacement she inquired how they would get home if we were able to get the vehicle back here to us we explained how we wouldn't be able to transport them in the vehicle we were bringing to check the situation. once we got there we offered to have a tow truck pick the vehicle up they declined saying they had aaa already coming once the car was back at our shop we inspected the car and determined that the vehicle had run out of gasoline and had been repeatedly cranked with no fuel causing the starter to overheat we replaced the starter and added fuel called the customer and explained that the starter went as a result of running it out of gasoline so we would be willing to split the cost of replacement and adding 30 dollars of fuel the customer agreed that they would infact be satisfied with that deal and would pay a total of 200 dollars they came and picked up the vehicle and have had zero issues with vehicle since

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